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Saturday, November 29, 2008

Round 3

I am a Mom of 2 kids and now soon to be 3....yes, I know it's crazy but despite the tough balancing act, my children are the best thing that has happened to me so we have decided to add one more.

It's been very interesting sharing the news of my pregnancy with colleagues, family and friends. The response I get is different for this third pregnancy.

With my first pregnancy, people were generally very excited for me. I was embarking into the world of parenting and people congratulated the decision and celebrated the novelty with me. I got lots of advice on how to manage the pregnancy and what to savour BEFORE the kids come.

With my second pregnancy, people seemed to react as though it was the natural next step. It was more a 'matter of fact' and parents with multiple children shared parenting advice on how to cope with the extra chaos.

With the third pregnancy, I find that the reactions depend on personal situations:

Those who are not yet married, or married without children, think I'm crazy to go for a third (they just can't relate);

Those with three children of their own celebrate the news and reassure me that life will just get better;

Those with two children (young and old) all recount to me how they came to the decision NOT to have a third, as if my news has made them revisit their decision;

And those with only one child feel the need to explain why they haven't yet had a second!

Ironically, even my husband has found the same trend in responses.

Regardless, we are absolutely thrilled and praying for a healthy pregnancy and baby and eager to hear any advice on going from 2 to 3!

I'm gonna go with the "I have two kids and this is why we decided to stay with two.." response. But yes I have continuously thought about having another. What led you to "take the plunge?" It is crazy with two and the parenting skills are getting chanllenged and strained to say the least...

We're about to have #'s 3&4 in the next couple weeks. My eldest now is 4 1/2yrs. We're terrified. And excited to see how the 4 will interact. Although I question how long my sanity will remain intact, I am happy to be giving my children the extra support that comes w/ siblings as they grow older together.

Congratulations! The transition from 2--->3 is a major killer. We have three boys ages 5,3,1. After 14 months we are still adjusting to three! When I am at home I often feel outnumbered and overwhelmed at the constant need...wiping noses, cutting food, cleaning messes, breaking up fights, changing diapers etc etc.....I am a family doc who works two days a week. My hospitalist husband's schedule allows him to stay home with the kids for a week at a time (week on/ week off) and he says that being at home is MUCH harder. In my clearer moments I can see the blessing....despite all the craziness I would like a 4th maybe in 2010....we'll see.Congrats to you and best of luck with the pregnancy, labor/delivery and adjustment.

Mothers in Medicine is a group blog by physician-mothers, writing about the unique challenges and joys of tending to two distinct patient populations, both of whom can be quite demanding. We are on call every. single. day.

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